Marc-Andr Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 I've always wondered how the videos from the early to mid 2000's were made. I guess they were shot on 35mm but some of them look very videoish with the blown highlights, crushed shadows and extreme contrast and saturation. It's hard to see the texture since they're all in 480p on 4:3 format. Anyone has an idea? Here is what I'm talking about: Britney Spears - Toxic https://youtu.be/LOZuxwVk7TU Christina Aguilera - Can't hold us down https://youtu.be/dg8QgUIKXHw Beyoncé - Crazy in Love https://youtu.be/ViwtNLUqkMY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 24, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 24, 2015 That Christine Aguilera video looks like it was inspired by "Do The Right Thing" -- looks like 35mm with a ton of lighting outdoors to make the colors pop, and color-corrected for a very saturated contrasty look. The thing is that back then, most music videos were shot on film but did all sorts of funky things for a look, some made prints off of the negative and transferred that, some cross-processed reversal stock, some shot and transferred reversal stock straight (there's a small chance that this video could have been shot on Ektachrome 100D or Fuji Velvia reversal and processed normally by an E6 lab like Yale Labs, but the lack of E6 labs that could handle long rolls of movie film made this a rare technique -- most would cross-process the reversal into negative using a ECN-2 movie lab). Some lower-budgeted videos were shooting on the Sony F900 and Panasonic Varicam back then, and some used those 35mm ground glass adaptors to use 35mm lenses and get shallower depth of field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin R Probyn Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I,d bet the farm those clips are 35mm.. maybe even Panavision .. Ive shot Beyonce and there is a hundred people around the monitor,s giving you grief .. they just want the flattest light known to mankind right in the face.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albion Hockney Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 yea cinealtas or 35mm ...usually 35mm if they are bigger artists. and lots of light always, strong edges were a big thing too for sure. lots of videos with maxies in the background flashing the lens on dimmers in frame and stuff in the early 2000's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc-Andr Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 I'm not gonna lie, I like this over the top look. But I'm probably biased since all these pop videos were my teenage years. Ohh nostalgia :P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin R Probyn Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Marc . I admire your dedication to your art.. at your age I would be concentrating on other strong visual attributes on display.. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny N Suleimanagich Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 There’s also the fact that most of these were probably transferred on a telecine to SD in the days before the HD standard, which would speak to the maximum youtube resolution being 480p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc-Andr Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Lolll thanks Robin. Kenny, what about the extensive greenscreen work in Toxic? The motorcycle scene, the laser room backflip, the wall climbing. Are you saying the keying was done on sd resolution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin R Probyn Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I think Kenny is referring to the telecine .. not the capture format.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Pham Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Hey guys, my first post, I had stumbled upon this forum a couple times but have only read older threads, and have seen Mr David Mullen post some gems before. Seeing the ASC behind his name also sparked my curiosity for what it represented and I have to say I am humbled to be able to learn from someone so highly regarded! Anyways, seeing that he is still active in the forums, I had to join in! Thanks for teaching the new generation and sticking around! Off to do some more snooping~~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny N Suleimanagich Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Lolll thanks Robin. Kenny, what about the extensive greenscreen work in Toxic? The motorcycle scene, the laser room backflip, the wall climbing. Are you saying the keying was done on sd resolution? I really couldn't tell you about the specifics of that video, but I'm mostly talking about the "video"ish look you're chasing down. My bed is that a lot of those were transferred on a flying spot telecine, with a look baked into it at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc-Andr Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Hey guys, my first post, I had stumbled upon this forum a couple times but have only read older threads, and have seen Mr David Mullen post some gems before. Seeing the ASC behind his name also sparked my curiosity for what it represented and I have to say I am humbled to be able to learn from someone so highly regarded! Anyways, seeing that he is still active in the forums, I had to join in! Thanks for teaching the new generation and sticking around! Off to do some more snooping~~ David is awesome yes! His insight is always useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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